Love's Trials and Tribulations
by shopgirl152
Summary: It's a Girls Night Out for Isabella and her friends. But when Isabella realizes something is bothering Katie, her friend won't talk to her. So she does the next best thing: sending in her boyfriend. But will old flames reignite? Phinabella, Phatie
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Inspired by the song Findin a Good Man by Danielle Peck. Well, the song inspired the first two chapters anyway. After that, the original idea kind of veered off and changed into something else. But I like the end result. So, enjoy readers!

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><p>"Where are they?" Isabella stomped her foot impatiently as she waited outside the restaurant. "I told them seven-thirty. They must be—"<p>

"Isabella!"

"Adyson!" She hugged her friend as the Fireside Girl approached her. "Where are the rest of you? This _is_ still a Girls Night Out, isn't it?"

Adyson laughed. "Oh don't worry. They're coming. They had to get provisions."

"Provisions?"

"Yeah, we—"

"Ungh!" Adyson and Isabella looked down the street, watching as Katie lugged something down the street while wearing heels and a long green dress.

"Katie! Here, let me help you!" Isabella hurried over, lifting up what appeared to be a bucket filled with drinks. "Root Beer?"

"Yeah. Ginger told me to bring them. You can't have a proper girls night without Root Beer."

"Or any night," Adyson cracked, walking over and helping with the bucket. "Katie, you look great!" Besides wearing a pair of heels, the blonde Fireside Girl had her hair down, letting it fall gracefully down her back.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks. You guys look great too." She surveyed Isabella's outfit. "Isabella, that purple dress looks great on you."

Isabella placed the bucket on the sidewalk, then curtsied. "Thank you very much. It was an anniversary present from Phineas."

"How long have you guys been dating now?"

"It'll be six months in May."

"Oh wow." Katie glanced off to the side. "That's…really great Isabella. You sure are lucky. You have the best boyfriend out of all of us."

"Well…Phineas isn't perfect…"

"Oh please." Adyson scoffed. "You are dating the perfect man Isabella. He's sweet, he's kind, he's gentle, he remembers your anniversary, he sings to you, buys you flowers on Valentines day—"

Isabella blushed. "Well, yeah. He _is_ sweet. But he's—"

"What? Still oblivious as ever?"

"Kinda…"

"You're kidding right?"

"Not really."

"He's seventeen. I thought he grew up."

Katie smiled. "This is Phineas we're talking about. I don't really think he'll ever grow up. That's what makes him so endearing." She looked down at the sidewalk.

Isabella's voice softened as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Katie, I'm sorry. I never meant to take Phineas away from you. I know you really liked him and everything—"

"It's okay Isabella. Really. Dating you was his choice. I didn't stand in the way or anything." She forced a smile. "You two are really good together." Without lifting her eyes, she slowly turned and walked towards the restaurant. "Come on. The others will be here soon and…well…we should get a table." She disappeared inside.

"Geez. Don't tell me our Girls Night is about to be ruined by a downer." Adyson tapped Isabella on the shoulder. "She's still hurt that Phineas chose you over her, isn't she?"

She sighed. "Yes. I've apologized to her again and again, but every time I do, she says it's fine. But…I know it's not. I just wish there was some way to fix it."

"Well, maybe you could—"

"We're here Chief." Isabella laughed as Gretchen, Milly, Holly, and Ginger came walking up to them.

"Gretch, I told you you didn't have to call me Chief anymore. We're not exactly Fireside Girls now."

"Yes, but we still call ourselves that," Holly added.

"So I think it's a perfectly valid excuse to keep calling you Chief," Ginger added. "Besides, old habits die hard."

"That's true…"

"Chief it is then," Gretchen added with a smirk. "Always Chief and never Miss." The rest of the girls laughed.

"Come on. I'm ready to start to this night and to do some good natured boyfriend bashing," Adyson said, leading the way into the restaurant.

"Ugh. Tell me about it." Ginger fell in step behind Adyson. "You would not believe what Baljeet did the other day."

"Yeah? Well, you're not dating Buford. Let me tell you…"

The girls walked into the restaurant talking and laughing, leaving Isabella standing alone outside. She looked around, quickly stuffing the bucket of Root Beer under a nearby mailbox where no one would find it. She sighed. Hopefully this night went well. If only she could figure out what to do about Katie.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh…my…gosh." Adyson leaned across the table; hanging on Gretchen's every word. "Ferb did that?"

"Yep. Decided that my socks needed to be more organized and that I should come up with an organization system for my room. So he built me this organizer…thing" Gretchen appeared to weigh something in her hands. "I'm not exactly sure what it was supposed to do, but before he left, he kissed me on the cheek and told me that all I had to do was push the green button on top."

"And did you?" Holly asked, sipping on a coke.

"Yep. And for a while, it worked. But after a few minutes, my curiosity got the best of me and I pushed another button on it. Needless to say, it exploded right in front of my eyes. Now my room is a mess and two days later, I'm _still_ cleaning it. My parents were peeved." She put her head in her hands, laughing. "I love Ferb, but sometimes I wish he would stop building things. It's almost easier that way."

The other girls at the table howled with laughter. As Ginger started in with her story, Isabella stole a glance at Katie. The blonde Fireside Girl was busy sipping on a Mountain Dew, smiling and laughing along with the others.

_Well, at least she seems to be having a good time_, Isabella thought. _Maybe a Girls Night Out was all she needed_

"Okay, okay, get this." Ginger lightly smacked the table, making sure she had everyone's attention. "So the other day, Baljeet and I were supposed to go on a walk. He needed a break from studying and I was more than happy to go with him."

"Yeah, we know." Adyson teased.

Ginger ignored her. "Anyway, we went for a walk in Danville woods and as we were walking along, a snake slithered across the path in front of us. Well, most boys are _supposed_ to protect girls. Baljeet? No way. He shrieked like a girl and jumped into my arms."

Everyone at the table laughed.

"Yeah and that's not the worst of it. I could barely hold him, so after stumbling a few feet, I ended up tripping and sending the both of us flying. It was only then that he jumped up, grabbing a stick and proclaiming…" she stood up at the table, grabbing a spare straw and brandishing it at a pretend snake. '"Do not worry Ginger, I shall save you from the snake!'"

"What did you do?" Milly asked.

"I rolled my eyes and walked away."

"Good move," Holly added. "It probably gave him something to think about."

"Not really. After that terror, he spent the rest of the walk finding fractals in nature. I was ready to throttle him."

"Well, it couldn't be as bad as the one date I had with Irving." Holly wiped her hands on a napkin. "It was the school dance last year and he asked me to go. Since every girl had pretty much already shunned him—"

"For good reason," Adyson piped up.

"I decided to be nice and say yes."

"Oooo…" Ginger winced. "_That_ was a mistake."

"Tell me about it. He spent most of the night hitting on me with these cheesy pick-up lines even though we were there as a couple. When the dance ended, I thought it was over." She growled. "_It wasn't_."

Gretchen held a finger up to say something. "Didn't he spend the next week following you around school?"

She groaned. "Yes. He wouldn't leave me alone. He kept hitting on me and trying to ask me out again. It only stopped after I told Mr. Jenkins. Then he told Irving to stop." Holly smirked, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms. "It hasn't happened since."

"You go girl," Adyson said. "Now, you have _got_ to hear what Buford did…"

Isabella rolled her eyes. Not this again. She'd heard the story a few days ago. Buford had decided that a perfect way of celebrating anniversaries was to belch in your girlfriend's face. Most girls would have gotten disgusted and walked away. But Adyson? Well…

"So I grabbed him by the collar, dragged him into the gym and body slammed him onto one of the wrestling mats. I told him 'Buford, if you ever to that again, I won't be slamming you against the mat next time.'"

"Oooo…"

"Now that's a way to stick it to him," Milly said. "Wish I'd been that clever with Django."

"What did he do?" Gretchen asked.

"Well…it wasn't much. He just decided to stand on my feet during the dance last week. He can't really dance. My feet were sore for days afterwards."

Adyson snorted. "Try dancing with Buford. That's no picnic either." The other girls giggled.

Holly looked toward Katie. "Okay Katie, your turn."

"Huh?"

"Oh come on. You must have some good stories about Phineas from when the two of you were dating."

The blonde shook her head. "No."

"Aw come on Katie. We told you our stories," said Milly, smiling. "Tell us yours."

"Um guys?" Isabella went to interject. "Maybe we should—"

"It's okay Isabella. Really." Katie smiled, eyes moist. "I-I need to use the bathroom. Can you—uh—"

"Oh!" Isabella jumped up. "Yeah! Sure Katie. I—"

"Thanks." The blonde pushed past her, weaving her way through the restaurant towards the front door.

"Hey, that's not the bathroom," Gretchen said. "Isabella, where is she going?"

"I don't know. Maybe I should—"

"Hey girls!"

The assembled Fireside Girls looked up, smiling at the three young women who had appeared at the table. "Hi!" They said collectively.

Stacy looked down at the assembled girls. "So we overheard you guys talking about your boyfriends—"

"And we want in," added Vanessa, pulling a chair from a nearby table as Candace grabbed another one. "I have so much to gripe about with Johnny, it's not even funny."

"Yeah, and Jeremy's starting to get on my nerves," Candace added. "I mean, he—"

"Oh oh!" Stacy took a seat next to Holly, roughly sliding the Fireside Girls across the booth they were sitting in. "First let me tell you about Coltrane. Oh my gosh, he is soo into his music that…"

Candace looked around, whispering to Vanessa. "Hey, where'd Isabella go?"

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><p><strong>AN:** Oh my gosh. This chapter was so much fun to write! I especially loved coming up with Ginger's story about her and Baljeet.


	3. Chapter 3

"Katie wait! Wait!" Isabella sprinted out of the restaurant, cursing herself. "Why did I wear heels?" Hopping on one foot, she took off one heel, then the other, running to catch up to her friend. "Katie!"

Katie paused, lowering her hand from where she had been hailing a cab. "Hi Isabella."

"Katie! What…are…you…doing?" Isabella panted.

"I'm tired. Think I'll go home."

"You want me to drive you? My car's parked just a little ways down the street. I could drive you home and we could talk—"

"No. I'm alright."

Isabella sighed in frustration. "Katie, we're friends right?"

"Of course we are!"

"O…kay. If we're friends, then why won't you talk to me?"

"It's complicated." Katie stuck her hand back in the air, waving it around to get the attention of a nearby cab. The cab stopped about a mile down the street before slowly backing up and coming to a stop in front of them.

"Katie, come on. Let me give you a ride home. It's probably safer."

"I'm fine Isabella, really." The blonde Fireside Girl opened the cab door, glancing over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"But—"

"Good bye Isabella." She climbed inside the cab, closing the door behind her. A few seconds later, the cab pulled away from the curb, pulling out onto the busy street.

"Ugh! Why won't she talk to me?" Isabella clenched her fists at her side, angrily walking in circles. "I've been trying to talk to her for weeks, but she won't listen to me!" She angrily dug a fist into the hidden bucket of Root Beer, emerging with a bottle and popping the top before taking a long, slow sip. She panted, calmly down.

"Okay Isabella, let's think about this logically. Katie was dating Phineas, but then Phineas realized he loved me and broke up with her." She started pacing again. "It's not like I deliberately took Phineas from her; he broke up with her and then asked me out. I fully supported their relationship. I never tried to steal him from her, so it can't be that." She sighed. "But she won't listen to me. If she won't listen to me, then…" suddenly an idea hit her.

_Phineas_

She quickly dug out her cell phone, dialing a number. "Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up…"

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><p>Phineas lay on his bed, absently reading. Every so often, he would glance at the cell phone by his side. He went to reach for it, only to pull his hand away. "No, I'm not going to call her."<p>

"Having Isabella withdrawals, I see." Ferb smirked as he entered the room.

"Heh. Yeah. I don't know Ferb. Isabella and I have almost been dating for six months and, well, I know it's her girls night tonight and I'm not supposed to call, but—"

He was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing. Although the phone was right next to him, he practically dove for it, catching it before it fell off the bed. He glanced at the caller id. "It's Isabella!"

Ferb rolled his eyes as he went to leave the room. "I'll just leave the two of you alone."

The redhead shot his brother a death glare before answering the phone. "Hey Iz!"

"Hey Phin. How are you? You're not going crazy without me are you?" she teased.

"Me? Going crazy without you? Nah. It's cool" He casually leaned against the headboard. "So what's up? Are you having a fun girls night?"

"Well we were…"

"Were?"

"Well, we were sitting around the table talking and laughing and having a great time, but…"

"But what? What happened?" He could hear a sigh come over the line.

"It's Katie."

"Aww." His voice softened. "She's still hurt about me dumping her, isn't she?" He winced. "I didn't mean to hurt her Isabella. It's just…well…I realized that I'd liked you all along and…well….you can't date two girls at the same time. It's not right. So…"

"I know, I know. It's okay. But…Phineas, she was really down tonight. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen to me."

"She wouldn't?"

More sighing. "No."

"Well, what should we—"

"I thought maybe you could talk to her."

"Me?" He frowned. "Izzy, I don't think—"

"Please Phineas? If she won't talk to me, maybe she'll talk to you."

"Izzy—"

"Please Phin? For me? She's one of my best friends. And Fireside Girls have to stick together."

Now it was his turn to sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "Alright Iz. I'll go talk to her. But I don't think she'll listen to me."

"Oh thank you Phineas!" He smiled. "You're the best boyfriend ever!"

"And you're the best girlfriend ever." He held the phone away from his ear upon hearing someone yelling in the background.

"Oh Phin? I gotta go. Thanks again. Love you."

He smiled. "Love you too Izzy."

"Bye."

"Bye." Phineas sighed as he hung up the phone. He wasn't sure how he was going to do this. Talking to his ex would be hard. But he had to try. For Isabella. He slowly climbed off his bed, retrieving his leather jacket from the hook by the door and shrugging it on.

"Ferb I'm going out! I'll be back in a few hours!" And with that, the redhead left, praying he'd know what to do once he arrived at Katie's house.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Sorry this chapter took so long to upload. Anyways, Enjoy!

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><p>"Boy, that sure didn't take long. I thought her house was farther away." Phineas gulped nervously as he looked up at the front door. "Well, I'll have to wing it, I guess." He slowly raised a hand, knocking on the door. A few minutes later, the door opened up, revealing a woman on the other side. She beamed at him.<p>

"Phineas! Come in!" She ushered him inside, showing him into kitchen. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid Katie just stepped out. She came home, changed and then just left." The woman opened up the door to the oven, taking something from it. "Would you like a homemade brownie? I just made them myself."

He smiled. He'd missed Mrs. Millhouse's cooking. "Sure." He took a bite, then after a few seconds, swallowed. "Uh, Mrs. Millhouse? Do you have any idea where Katie might have gone?"

"Oh! Have you two reconciled?"

"Um…no."

"Oh." He winced.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Millhouse. It's just—"

"Oh don't worry about it Phineas. I know how it is. It's understandable." She walked over to the kitchen sink, gazing out the window. "Now let me see…she didn't say where she was going, but normally when she takes off, she goes to the Fireside Girls clubhouse."

He stood up, brushing the crumbs off his shirt into a nearby trashcan. "Thanks Mrs. Millhouse. I should probably be going. Oh. And thanks for the brownie."

"Anytime Phineas. Now you just run along now." She ushered him out the front door and just for the sake of it, he jumped off the porch, clearing the two short steps in one go.

That was easier than having to talk to Katie. Maybe he should just do that all night instead.

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><p>About twenty minutes later, Phineas came across the Fireside Girls clubhouse. He stood outside it for a moment. It was smaller than he remembered. Of course, he was seventeen now and much, much taller than he had been at ten. He absently measured himself from foot to head.<p>

Yep. He was going to have to squat to get inside. Slowly, he squatted down, alternating between hopping and wiggling his way to the door. He knocked. "Katie? Katie, are you in there? Uh, I'd come inside, but it's a bit small for me now. Of course, you're older too, so I don't think you can really fit in there, but…well, girls are usually _shorter_ than boys—"

A giggle was heard next to him. "That's why I sit outside the clubhouse."

"Oh thank goodness." He uncurled his legs from underneath him, sinking to the ground. "I was wondering how I was going to—oof!" He fell backwards as Katie tackled him to the ground.

"Oh Phineas, I miss you so much. Why'd you have to leave me for Isabella?"

"Um, Katie?"

"I know I'm not Isabella, but…we had something, didn't we?" She let him go, helping him sit upright. Her eyes searched his. "Please Phineas, tell me that it wasn't a mistake."

His heart lurched. He had forgotten how beautiful she was. He took in her appearance: a simple brown blouse with a pair of jeans and tennis shoes. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. He absently lifted a hand to brush a strand of hair from her face, only to shake his head. No. He couldn't do this. "Katie…"

"Phineas please, don't leave me again."

"Katie…" he took her hands in his, looking her square in the eyes. "Katie, I did like you. I liked you very much. And I enjoyed dating you. I mean, we had fun right?" She nodded. He smiled. "But…I only _liked_ you. Isabella I…well, love."

She started to cry.

"Aww. Please don't cry. Come here." He scooted closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Katie, I didn't want to dump you. I didn't want to hurt you. But…I can't date both you _and_ Isabella. It would be wrong."

"I-I know. But…"

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with you. I like you just fine. You know, as a friend. At least, I hope we can still be friends." He lifted her chin up so he could look in her eyes. "My heart belongs to Isabella. You know that."

She nodded, the sniffles subsiding. "I guess I just didn't want it to end." She studied him. "You really love Isabella, don't you?"

He smiled as the image of his girlfriend popped into his mind. "Yeah, I really do." He paused. "How could you tell?"

"I can hear it in your voice when you talk about her."

He smiled again, standing up and dusting himself off. He offered her a hand. "Come on, I'll walk you home."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Last chapter! Hope you enjoyed the story!

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><p><em>One week later<em>…

"Hi Phineas!"

The redhead peeked around his open locker door, smiling at the person on the other side. "Hey Katie. What's up?"

She giggled. "Oh nothing much. I just wanted to pop over and say hi. And to say…thanks."

"For what?"

"For talking to me and explaining why you broke up with me. It was…kind of hard to hear, but I think I just needed closure. I know we haven't talked for a week but I mostly came over to tell you that yes, we can still be friends."

"Really?"

"Yes."

He grinned, giving her a hug. "That's great Katie. I was hoping you'd say that." The two friends hugged for a few minutes before Katie let go.

"Well, I guess I better go. I have Algebra in five minutes. Bye Phineas."

"Bye Katie."

"What was that about?"

Phineas turned around, his grin widening at the sight of his girlfriend. "Hey Isabella. Katie just stopped by to say hello and to thank me for talking to her. Also to say that we're still friends."

She kissed him on the cheek. "That's great Phineas." She laid a head on his shoulder. "She talked to me a few days ago and explained why she wasn't talking to me."

"Why wasn't she talking to you?"

"Oh, she was hurt. She thought that I stole you, but it's all over now. We're back to being friends and we're planning another Girls Night Out. But with less drama this time."

He smirked. "Can I come?"

"No."

"Awww…Izzy, why not?"

Isabella giggled. "Phin, I told you. It's a Girls Night Out. Girls only remember?"

"I can be a girl. I'll wear a dress and everything."

She snorted. "Now _that_ I would love to see."


End file.
